


Kiss Kiss Fall in Pools

by Daxii



Series: Excessively Adorable and Domestic Drabbles [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Baby Sakura!, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, More Fluff, another baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-04 23:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5351780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daxii/pseuds/Daxii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The RinHaru side of my fic Sousuke's Misdrection. </p><p>1) Haru and Sakura enjoy the art gallery. Rin doesn't enjoy being lost.<br/>2) Haru and Rin give their friends a very special Christmas present.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is heavily inspired by tomakehimfree/[onlysimfree](http://onlysimfree.tumblr.com/)'s sims because they're just WAY TOO CUTE and I can't get enough.

 

The gallery is all but empty of the two of them, and Haru's footsteps echo in that certain tone only encountered on marble floors in empty spaces. Sakura's feet, his squishy shoes with the rubber grippies on the bottom, _pad pad pad_ behind him somewhere into the next room. Haru finds his own art easily enough, a series of three canvases.

In the first, a cherry blossom tree stands completely bare. It blooms in the second. And in the third, the petals are falling, swirling down towards the ground, and if you look closely enough, join up all the dots, they form the shape of a cradle.

"Sakura, come here. This is your picture," Haru calls.

The little _pad pad pad_ s have stopped and he turns to look for his son. Beige cardigan and jeans, like the cutest little old man he's ever seen, and he's transfixed on a particular painting.

"Pa!" he squeaks, turning to Haru, and then the hand reaches out and the thumb goes in.

"You like that one?" Haru asks quietly.

He gets closer for a proper look, hovering behind Sakura to allow him the space to enjoy it. He's only heard of the artist once or twice, but she's a local woman who likes to draw the fantastical.

This piece is a woodland scene of a Faun playing an instrument, entertaining a group of fairies, and it's these creatures Sakura can't look away from. They're painted in such a way that the light reflects them. They sparkle, bright, like they're coming off the canvas and into the gallery.

"Pa!" Sakura turns, arm up and expectant, other still sticking his thumb in his mouth.

Haru doesn't have the heart to pull it out to try and kick the habit when he picks him up. "The fairies, Sakura?"

 

"Mm," he makes a little noise of acknowledgment and leans his head onto Haru's shoulder.

Haru shifts him from his hip to his front and pops a kiss on his head, letting him look at the painting for as long as he wants.

 

 

And then Sakura looks up and makes a face Haru knows all too well, and all he can do is try not to grimace at his baby as he feels the padding in his pants fill up.

"... Let's find Daddy, yeah?"

 

Rin has given up. He's somewhere between dinosaurs and rocks, having completely given up on finding his husband and child in the children's museum where they were _supposed_ to meet him after he found space for the car. So now he's god knows where within the complex of museums, baby carrier dangling loosely from his front and changing bag abandoned into the glaringly empty pushchair. He's just a _beacon_ of red, suddenly regretting his insistence to bring their Big Gear for the day out and not the little navy buggy and baby wrap Haru prefers to use when he takes Sakura out. All simple and easy and about the third of the price of what Rin was informed, by the well meaning parent forums on the internet who aren't _at all_ getting an advertising cut from the flashiest baby brands, he _absolutely needed._

He maneuvers the pram through the people and finds a space to try and call Haru, _again_ , to find where they are. He's probably got his phone on silent, hidden in Sakura's backpack where he doesn't have to bother him. Even Sousuke would have more of a hope of getting out of this maze than Rin does right now.

He finally gets out into the courtyard the connects all the buildings and aims for the benches near the sign posts. Children's museum, history museum, Japanese culture, Dinosaur exhibit, fucking _rocks_. And then he sees it, a sign he must have missed earlier with how it points at _the most_ inconvenient angle to the building right across from him.

Art gallery.

He should have fucking known.

He gets hold of the handlebar again and wheels around the little island of flowers the sign sicks out of, only to reveal Haruka toting along a very miserable tot right in his direction.

Rin folds his arms and stands his ground.

"Your baby smells... and he's not very happy about it," Haru says, bland as anything, and Rin just _stares_.

"Oh, so he's _my_ baby now?! After you two have been off gallivanting _without me_ for the last _hour?!_ " he grumbles, hissing because he can't yell in front of Sakura.

But then Sakura looks at him, eyes wet where he's leaking silent tears in his discomfort, and Rin reaches out. "Oh, come on then. Gotta get baby boy's butt sorted. And _then_ we can go to what we were _supposed_ to be here for in the first place. And I'm sure Papa will be _mooore_ than happy to play dress up with Sakura-chan when we get there. I'm thinking we make him put on a Victorian dress and a wig. You don't know what that is yet but we'll take plenty of pictures and tell you when you're bigger."

Sakura's big eyes stare at him much the same way Haru's do. It's the same blue, that same endless ocean. So much going on in that mind he only gets the briefest glimpses of. If he inherits Haru's creativity, and maybe a _little_ bit of the Matsuoka logic, this kid will be unstoppable.

At least, as soon as he's potty trained.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Haru get their friends a very special Christmas present.

When Rin had texted that they should go round for the evening, he really should have clarified that it wasn’t a social event. Makoto and Sousuke certainly don’t _mind_ helping to wrap the presents for the kids, but it would have been nice to know before hand so they could have brought their own mountain of gifts over and get it all done in one night.

“Do these even count as presents?” Sousuke scowls at the two large boxes. “They literally need these or they die. That’s hardly festive.”

“My fault,” Haru shrugs, ducking in from the kitchen, just checking in. He’s the only one with a hope of getting some nice clean corners in the wrapping, but he’s been peeling and chopping and marinating and all that other stuff for as long as Sou and Makoto have been over. “I got Rin a stupid car and the ones we already have don’t fit.”

As if they needed another reminder that these two can get each other _cars_ for Christmas. The big red Range Rover glinting in the driveway is doing a good enough job at making them feel _hopeless_. But... Sousuke can remember his own childhood. Having a big box to unwrap was always more exciting than whatever was _in_ the box anyway. And of course the box _itself_. Sakura could make a full sized pirate ship with these two put together. Who cares about _car seats_ anyway.

“I love my stupid car. And my stupid boy,” Rin grins from the floor.

He and Makoto are intricately wrapping various trains and buildings and accessory packs to go with Sakura’s new train set while Sousuke starts heaving the car seat boxes around. He puts them waaay at the back of the tree, like a backdrop for all the proper presents.

“Is she not a little young for this?” he asks, taking his next big box. A rocking horse for Natsume.

Rin shrugs. “She’ll be ready for it before her birthday. It’s got sides, see? And it’ll look nice in her room.”

Yup... because now that Rin’s stopped crying about her growing up too fast, moving into her own room at the grand old age of eight months, his new mission in life is to make it her princess palace. The amount of designer baby clothes Sousuke’s already had to wrap tonight sort of leaves him torn between jealousy and outrage. Just because it’s a ten thousand yen cardigan isn’t gonna stop the little madam spitting up on it anyway.

Sakura wears better shoes than he does. Ugg boots. For a three year old.

_Think of the hand-me-downs_ , he reminds himself. Though by the time Sousuke and Makoto can afford a surrogate, this will all be vintage fashion.

 

Haru’s appeared again, apron abandoned and a packet of plasters thrown into Rin’s lap. He’s pouting and holding out his hand.

“Peeled my finger,” he mutters when he catches Makoto grimacing.

“Don’t get blood in my spuds!” Rin hisses. He must trust Haru to have already washed the wound out, because he’s not _actually_ a child, despite the face he’s pulling, with how he takes his hand so gently and wraps his middle finger in a big blue plaster with a dolphin on it. They don’t even belong to the kids - there’s puppies and kittens on theirs - this is all Haru.

He joins them for a bit, sulking at Rin’s side and watching the wrapping. Sousuke’s just tackling the Duplo collection. He’s good at the square boxes. Rin and Makoto are tag teaming all the weird shapes for figures and plushies. Haru looks like he’s trying not to tut at the state of their efforts.

“How’s the food coming? What are we having this year?” Makoto asks.

“Beef fillet or goose,” Haru says, calmly. Sousuke’s salivating already.

Rin likes a _Western_ feel to his holiday dinners. He’s spent too long in Australia. Sou’s surprised Haru goes along with it so easily. All their other meals are so strictly traditional, because he’s been completely traumatised by all the travelling he’s had to do, but it’s kinda sweet he lets Rin have this one thing.

Just like Sousuke lets Makoto have his thing of having Haru cook his special meals. Sousuke _tries_ , he does, but Haru always wins the food war for Makoto’s heart, and he just has to accept it.

Haru keeps glancing at his phone, checking the timer he has running for whatever he must have put in the oven, and decides he can grace the rest of them with his assistance. And show them up with his superior wrapping skills. Even Natsume is going to realise that’s a rabbit under all that glitter, it’s so tight and neat and perfect and making Sousuke’s catepillar look like a cat that’s hit a pillar.

“So they’ve got _all this_ , and I know we’ve spoiled them a bit too... and everything your families are gonna get them... and our other friends... where are you going to put it?” Makoto asks.

Rin wags a finger at him. “Did you not read the card we gave you in, like, _October?!_ You’re supposed to stick your name on some of these and donate to the Water Babies foundation instead!” he whines.

“But we _run_ the Water Babies foundation!” Sousuke counters.

Rin’s scowling, but it’s that fake-scowl. He can never be genuinely annoyed when anyone’s being nice to his babies. Besides, Rin was right there in the store with Sousuke when he was ogling the robot dogs. A model the size of a small cat for Sakura, that could obey commands and walk with him, and a little baby version for Natsume for her to crawl along behind. Makoto had come home from a trip out with Haru with a haul from the children’s art section. They knew this was coming.

“If it makes you feel better, we didn’t get you guys anything,” Makoto says, a little sheepish.

Rin and Haru don’t care. “That’s fine. We’ll just keep using your pool.”

“You’re the best free advertising we could ask for. I hope you’ve not gone overboard with us this time. No more new kitchens, guys.”

Rin’s got a stupid grin and Sousuke has to sigh. They’re awful with Christmas and birthdays. It’s like they’re trying to burn through their Olympic fortune on _purpose_.

Haru’s phone beeps and he’s up in a flash. Whatever’s in the oven must be precious for him to move so quickly.

Pies! Mince pies! Sousuke can smell them. Makoto’s face means he can smell them too. Rin’s still grinning.

“Come on,” he says, getting up. “I’m sure he’ll let us taste test them before tomorrow.”

“Will I?” Haru calls from the kitchen. “Really?”

 

Sousuke and Makoto drive home only more excited for their food tomorrow. They’ve had a little cuddle with Natsume with her night bottle, but Sakura’s been asleep their entire visit. The little miss is still too young to understand Christmas, and for their rascal it’s the first year he can really start to appreciate all the festivities, and the _toys_. They still have their own wrapping to do, but a little TV time beforehand won’t hurt.

Makoto takes his spot, expecting Sousuke to scavenge in the kitchen first before taking his chair. He can pass Makoto his blanket on his way through, he decides, stretching out on the couch and finding the Bake Off special on catch-up.

But Sousuke catches him off guard, leaning over him and kissing his face.

“Budge up. Let me in,” he says, starting to pull Makoto up by the arms. He sits down and let’s Makoto’s head nestle in his lap. “You alright?”

“I’m fine.”

He is. He’s really fine. In that state of happy and tired and excited. A bit _broody_ , but he always is after getting to tuck one of the kids in and kiss them goodnight. Sousuke understands.

“It’ll be our turn soon enough. I promise.”

He leans down to kiss him. They’ve stopped bringing the subject up quite so often. It just makes them miserable.

Sousuke puts the gifts in the back of the car before they go to bed. They’ll have an early start. They have to be at Rin and Haru’s before Sakura dives into the presents. He can tell Makoto’s struggling, just a little, with keeping his spirits up. He likes the winter; it’s not too hot to hold him all night.

 

Sakura _knows_ what Christmas is. He knows he’s going to get presents. And he also knows he has to stay in his room until his owl turns green, but Haru’s not sure that’s going to happen tonight. He can hear that he’s awake. He probably woke up from the sound of Natsume’s early morning hunger gurgles and Haru sorting her out, only _she’s_ gone back to sleep, flat out on Rin’s chest. Sakura’s scuffling about, obviously too excited, and Haru might just have to break the routine and go and get him.

Since it’s Christmas, after all.

He gets up and crosses the hall, past the big cherry blossom mural that took him like a month to paint between the kids’ bedroom doors.

“Sakura,” he says, quiet and soft because that’s the atmosphere he’s going for.

He’s awake, sat on his floor with his wooden cars he was playing with last night, and looks up at Haru like he’s in trouble. Haru crouches down to him.

“Do you want to come sleep in our room for a little while? Until it’s time to get up.”

“But what about presents?” he asks. He’s always so blunt with what he wants, just like Rin.

“Not until your uncles get here. And daddy isn’t even awake yet.”

Sakura pouts, but he’s pretty reasonable for a toddler. As an April baby, he’s closer to _four_ than three now... which puts Haru closer to _forty_. _Shit_.

He’s used the potty in his room and Haru takes him to the bathroom again, just to be safe, and to swill this thing out in the sink. His red checked pjs are adorable. Haru has to make him go around to _his_ side of the bed rather than Rin’s. He’s stirring, just about, only half aware of the kid cuddling up to him.

They get maybe an hour more until Rin’s phone beeps. Haru reaches over to check it, and it’s just Makoto saying they’re up and they’re setting off in about half an hour. Rin grunts. Haru shows him the message, and then he just grunts more.

Haru sits up, taking Natsume from Rin’s front and gently rubbing her back to wake her. Sakura’s wide awake _immediately_ as he feels the movement in the bed, and now that Dada’s not encumbered by the baby, he’s on him in a flash.

“Christmas!” he yells, too loud for anyone.

“Hey!” Rin scolds. “Quiet. People are sleeping.”

Sakura’s looking torn between getting upset and pushing the boundaries to the brink, but Rin sits up, so he doesn’t have to do either, just nestle into his lap and be kissed on the head.

“Going for run, Dada?” Sakura asks.

“Not on Christmas,” Rin shakes his head. It’s been too icy outside this past week to take Sakura with him in the stroller anyway.

But Haru knows what he’s like. He’ll go later, leaving Haru to deal with the carnage from the present opening. For now, he’s having some morning tickles with Sakura while Haru’s taken Natsume to get changed and get at least half the family dressed for Christmas. Her littler red dress and Christmas tree tights are just too cute. He’s been waiting _weeks_ to put this on her.

He brews a pot of coffee big enough to satisfy Sousuke and Makoto when they make it round. He’s just sticking to juice for now. Rin can sort himself out. Natsume is on her mat, where Haru can still make sure she doesn’t crawl away while he’s in the kitchen, but all she’s interested in is watching him prepare some oats to soak in milk for the kids’ breakfasts after presents. Maybe she’ll be his little chef.

Sakura is thundering down the stairs. He’s so small, yet so _noisy_. Haru hears him pause and squeak at the sight of the tree, and almost feels like calling him in if he doesn’t make an appearance soon. But he’s a good boy, climbing up into his chair at the table and taking his cup of juice.

“Have you seen your presents, Sakura?”

“Mmhmm!”

“Do you know what you might want to get for Christmas?”

“Toys!”

“What kind of toys?” he’s not sure why he asks, Sakura doesn’t _really_ know, since they watch so little TV and he doesn’t get the adverts in his face all the time, but sometimes he can surprise them all.

“Toys to play with sister!”

“That’s nice,” Haru smiles. “You’re a good big brother, sharing with her. How would you feel if Uncle Makoto and Uncle Sousuke had a baby for you to play with too?”

Sakura looks... confused, if anything. “Would that be a sister?”

“A cousin,” Haru corrects. “It could be a boy or a girl. You’d be the oldest, so you’d have to help look after them, like when Natsume was tiny.”

“Tiny’s boring.”

A bit. Haru likes this toddler stage much more than the anxiety of a newborn. “But they’ll grow up and you can play together. You can show them how to swim.”

“Can we swim today?”

“Not today. We’re busy today. You can ask your uncles if you can swim tomorrow, though.”

 

He stays sitting when the door knocks. Makoto will let himself in if he’s not there to open up in half a second anyway, and Sakura always likes to greet them at the door. He can hear the squeals as he must see the presents they’ve brought, and one of them must pick him up.

“Merry Christmas!” Makoto sings, coming into the kitchen. He glances around and spots Natsume, making a bee-line to get hold of her too. “Hello, beautiful. Aren’t you cute?”

Sousuke has Sakura. “Where’s your dad? Is he still being lazy in bed?”

“But Papa’s the lazy one...”

“Hey!” Haru reaches out to tickle his little foot where it’s dangling, Sou’s got him on his hip. “Why don’t you run up and bring him down for us?”

He’s incredibly efficient, bolting up the stairs before Haru’s even out of his chair, and they all move to the lounge to wait. Makoto’s so good with babies. Natsume just _adores_ the attention he gives her. And he’s always willing to deal with the dirty diapers.

They hear Rin coming down and going straight to the kitchen, making coffee, and he’ll probably make some for the others too.

“Be careful, it’s very hot. Walk slow and give that to Uncle Sou, ok?” he says.

“Uh huh!” Sakura’s always so happy to be given grown-up tasks.

Rin puts Makoto’s coffee down where Natsume can’t grab for it and sits next to Haru, hooking him under his arm.

Sakura’s looking between them all. He’s too excited to talk but they all know what he wants. Makoto looks a bit giddy too, shuffling to the edge of his chair with Natsume in his lap.

“Alright, go on then!” Rin finally announces. “Hey, Sakura, why don’t you and your sister open those big ones first?”

“Oooh!”

Makoto puts the baby down near the mountain and gets the two big boxes first. He helps Natsume make a little tear she can start to rip at, copying Sakura who’s absolutely going to town on his.

“Aren’t these presents for Dada?” Sakura asks, recognising the picture on the box. Haru could laugh, but he’s too happy just watching.

“They’re for Sakura and Natsume in my new car. Look, they’re red. They match! Uncle Sou’s gonna help me with them later, and then you finally get to come for a ride with me.”

“But I want to stay here with the presents.”

“Right. Of course you do. Carry on, then.”

Rin moves the boxes to the hall and sits back down, snuggling up to Haru to watch. Makoto’s helping Natsume out, and she really has no idea what’s going on, but Sakura’s never looked so delighted. He’s making a neat pile for all his train stuff, and a stack for his Duplo boxes, and another pile for all the arts and crafts things from Makoto. He’s organised, just like Haru.

And he’s wearing himself out. _Fast_. They’ve got a walk on the beach planned for before they eat the feast, and so Haru tucks both kids in for a nap when they’ve eaten their porridge. Natsume’s having too much fun playing with the paper for them to tidy up yet, but neither Haru nor Rin can stand to sit in this mess.

They decide to give Sousuke and Makoto their card in the kitchen.

“Are... are you serious?” Sousuke gasps. He’s reading it over and over again. “This is... you’re... guys...”

Makoto’s crying. Rin’s on the edge, too.

“Don’t say you can’t accept it. You have to.” Haru tells them both.

He and Rin have enough that this gift barely touches them, but Sousuke and Makoto work so _hard_ with their swim school and their charity, ad they’ve had too many dreams come crashing down to let another one slip through the cracks.

“We can’t do it yet...” Sousuke mumbles. Haru understands. They thought they’d be waiting _years_ , and they’ve still got other cards on the tables.

“We could even do it at the same time,” he nods. He doesn’t mean to sound so nonchalant.

Rin’s crying properly now, wiping his snotty face on Haru’s shoulder. “Really?” he whispers.

“You wanted another. We might as well.”

 

Sakura is very concerned about all the adults crying when he sneaks downstairs. But they’re smiling, too, so it can’t be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not exactly Christmas anymore, but I was thinking about this series and I've spent Christmas around a couple of little kids and this just... sort of... yeah. 
> 
> And now we all know what's next in Sousuke's Misdirection!

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts accepted for both the RinHaru side of the universe and the SouMako!  
> Leave me loveloves <3  
> I'll leave this as complete but there will probably be more little drabbly scenes added when I need fluff, especially BABY FLUFF.


End file.
